


Nerdquisition

by Delmire



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Adoribull - Freeform, Conventions, D&D, Felix is the ultimate cinnabun, I live for platonic Dorian and Felix love, Krem is long suffering, M/M, MMOs, Modern Thedas, No Magic AU, Smut, everyones a nerd of some description
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-19 05:56:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17595731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delmire/pseuds/Delmire
Summary: TheInquisition is a semi-casual, semi-accidentaly hard core raiding guild in the MMO Dragon Age Online. With Games Con in Skyhold looming closer, Bull finds out he finally gets to meet two of his favourite 'vints in person. Excited to hang out in real life and nerd it out, he offers Dorian and Felix a place to stay instead of paying the heafty hotel fee. What happens when Bull and Dorian finally meet is not surprising in the least.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! So, Haven Valley's update is delayed because of this little plot bunny. This is just going to be a short, three part adoribull fic featuring MMOs, conventions, D&D, and then some lemons (because back in my day that's what they called it *rofl*).

Bull grinned as he stepped into his bedroom after a big day at work. Today had been particularly long and he’d been looking forward to getting home and relaxing since before lunch. Bull took a great deal of pride in his as Safety Officer and on a construction site, safety was the most important thing. But as rewarding as the work was, it could be exhausting and honestly, the entire week had felt extra long.

Shrugging off his shirt and pants, Bull grabbed clean clothing and headed towards the shower, a spring in his step as he anticipated his plans for the evening. He’d been playing Dragon Age Online, or DAO, for over a year now and he loved how many people he’d met through playing. Sitting back and tearing through quests on a low-level character or focusing on a new, challenging achievement was the best way to unwind after a long day or week.

Hurriedly showering, Bull mentally planned what he wanted to do tonight. Not everyone was free on a Friday night, Maker knows Bull frequently wasn’t, but there should be enough people online to try the Dawn Breaker achievement that he’d been wanting to complete. It was rewarded for completing the latest dungeon on the hardest difficulty in a certain amount of time and the reward was a pet dragon! Bull had been excited since he’d first heard about it but the last few weekends he’d tried they hadn’t managed to make the time, even if they did complete the dungeon.

Still, TheInquisition was constantly working to take down new raid bosses and they’d had quite a few new gear drops last week. Today might finally be the day that Bull could claim the mightiest of all dragon pets!

With renewed enthusiasm Bull dressed, grabbed a drink, and settled himself in his room in front of his multi-screened computer set up. His headset was where he’d left it and he slipped the band around the back of his head, mindful of his horns, while he waited for the computer to whirr quietly to life. When the epic roaring dragon wallpaper greeted him, Bull opened up their chat program on one screen while launching DAO on the other.

Glancing over the list of people online on their guilds chat server, he found a surprising amount of people online. Two of his three favourite ‘vints, Felix and Krem, were the only people in voice chat however and Bull immediately jumped on to say hello.

“How’s my favourite tank and healer going?”

“Bull!” Felix greeted excitedly and he could just picture the sweet ‘vint waving at him through their screens.

“Last week you said Cass was your favourite tank,” Krem replied, sounding bored.

“Aw Krem, you know you’re always my favourite. So, we have two of my favourite ‘vints around, anyone know if my third favourite might show up tonight?”

Dorian, Felix’s best friend and roommate, was a mouthy ‘vint with serious attitude. He was also the best mage on the server, constantly reading up on the latest patch notes and game tweaks to change his characters spec accordingly. It seemed as though Dorian’s character had a new build every week but Bull could appreciate the man’s dedication to pushing the limits of his characters abilities. Combine the high damage blaster mage with Felix’s bouncy druid healer, Bull’s two-handed front-line damage dealer warrior, and Krem’s super geared tank; they had the makings on an amazing party.

“Dorian’s on a date!” Felix exclaimed, the excitement bubbling through his voice. “But it was just for coffee so he should be back soon, it’s already been over an hour.”

“A date, huh?” Bull mused, filing the information away for later. Could make for some great teasing material next time Dorian’s around on chat. They were always teasing each other and looking for new ways to provoke each other. Many a night had been filled by running circles around an in-game city while he bantered with Dorian on voice chat.

“I keep forgetting that you guys aren’t dating,” Krem muttered before swearing and the sound of angry keyboard typing suggested that Krem had a too-close brush with character death.

“I got you!” Felix cried out and they must be running something together. A tank healer combo made for some easy group finding. “And whys that? Because we say ‘I love you’ to each other all the time?”

“Yeah, it’s something you expect from relationship, not just friends.”

“But I do love him, he’s like a brother to me, and if I don’t tell Dorian that I love him at least twice a day, I’ll never make up for all the times his family said they don’t.”

That was a little too much information about an internet friend but then again, some of what gets shared made that look like nothing in comparison. Hell, more than one of his late-night conversations with people from the guild had turned to sex or relationships or pasts. It was amazing what the veneer of anonymity made people comfortable enough to share. After all, only a few of them knew each other in real life.

“Speaking of Dorian,” Felix continued as Bull finally loaded into the game. “He just sent me an SMS and all it has on it is a snake emoji yelling ‘heck’. I don’t think it went well.”

Bull snorted, that sounded like an understatement. Usually Dorian would be very eloquent, and often long-winded, even during typed conversations.

“Poor guy, though I’m sure we’ll all hear about it in detail later.” Krem’s groan and Felix’s laugh sounded through his headset. “But for now, what you guys running? Need some badass dps?”

“Yeah sure, we’re just running random dungeons for drops.”

Once Krem and Felix had finished their latest run, Bull joined up with them, pausing only to order pizza after taking the rest of the household’s order through SMS and chat. They were a big household with seven people in residence but they were all close enough to call family. Once food and drink arrived, Bull was finally feeling the last of the days tension releasing. Nothing like a bit of virtual badassery and greasy food to help you relax.

A slam sounding out through his headset caused Bull to jump in his seat but the cause became clear as a slightly muffled wail of ‘FELIX!’ followed. He’d been so focused on the rhythm of downing boss after boss that the disruption had been particularly surprising.

“Dori! How’d it go?”

“It was awful!” Dorian’s voice came closer and the sound of cloth brushing against a microphone had Krem grumbling complaints under his breath. “Who’s there? Oh, Bull!” Dorian must have seen the tiny gnome with the giant axe three times his size running across the screen. Gnomes were the best, there was nothing quite as humiliating as being completely destroyed by a creature half your size wielding a weapon bigger than you. “Bull, you’ll appreciate this. He had the most perfect ass I’ve ever seen. Perfectly round and perky, total 11/10, but he just kept going on and on about himself. I couldn’t get a word in! It wasn’t even exciting personal interests, like science or something, it was all ‘blah blah brand name this or I met this person and they were totally hitting on me’. It was the most unattractive thing I’ve ever experienced!”

Bull winced, that was rough. “Shame about the ass. You still could have tapped that though! No talking required.”

Felix must have moved his headphone ear cup out to the side or put the chat on speakers because Dorian replied without missing a beat. “I honestly considered it but the more he droned on the less attractive he became and, in the end, I just couldn’t bare another minute in his presence.”

“Shame, that sounded like an amazing ass. Hey, wanna come run the Dawn Breaker acheive? Take your mind off things?”

“You and that bloody dragon pet,” Krem said, groaning.

“Come on, Krem Puff! We’ve already got most of a team here and I can see Sera and Varric online in chat, surely one of them is around to top it off.”

“You don’t even want to listen to my woes! How terrible to be used for only my high gear score and incredible damage.”

Bull snorted at the mock dramatic tone Dorian used, one that came out frequently. “You can moan all you like while we clear the dungeon but hey, if you like, you can always do a different typing of moaning.”

The noises of disgust the comment earned Bull would have had Cass proud and he laughed. He and Dorian flirted quite heavily in and around their banter so it really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.

“How crude.” Dorian sniffed disdainfully but the sound of shuffling suggested he was going to head to his own computer anyway.

“Hey Dori, you know how I looooove you?” Felix said, sugary sweet and totally batting his eyelashes. “Could you put the jug on for me on your way past?”

“Used again! This time for warm, caffeinated beverages!”

Dorian’s voice faded as he moved away from Felix’s microphone so Bull couldn’t hear the rest of what he said but from the muffled tone he could make out, he was doing theatrical dramatics in Felix’s doorway. Unsurprisingly, Felix won because he called out a ‘Love you!’ over his shoulder. Felix always won.

And this was why, for the first good month or so after they both joined the guild, everyone thought they were dating, if not married. Turns out Dorian was gay but not for Felix, Felix was into any gender but not Dorian, and they had the most adorable bromance that they weren’t shy in showing. It was sickeningly sweet enough that Sera had been known to make gagging noises on voice chat when things like this happened.

They finished up their current dungeon while Dorian switched his computer on and got Felix his tea. A few quick messages revealed that Varric would be free to come help in roughly twenty minutes, once he’d sent off his script to his frantic editor. The dwarf had been putting off the final revision for his latest ‘historical’ romance and had been complaining about it in chat enough that Bull wasn’t surprised he still wasn’t done.

A little notification popped up on screen to show that Dorian had logged on just as the sound of a new person entering their voice chat rang through Bull’s headset.

“So, what was this about a Dawn Breaker run?”

“Bull wants his bloody pet dragon,” Krem replied before Bull could, voice exasperated but fond.

“Hey, it’s only the coolest pet in the game,” Bull protested, although they’d heard it all before. “Shoots fire and everything! Varric said he’d be twenty minutes so we can do a full guild run. We got this! In the meantime, you can moan about this terrible date to your hearts content, Dorian.”

Krem groaned again before protesting, “please no.”

On his screen, Bull was greeted by the sight of a familiar tall qunari mage pulling up beside his gnome. Even after Dorian accepted the party invite, he and Bull had their usual back and forth of in game character emotes while they continued to talk. Mostly it was Bull’s gnome dancing or making rude gestures while Dorian’s character shook his head in disdain.

“Hey, I see you got some fancy new robes on, Dorian. Get some new gear last week?” Bull asked and grinned when Felix’s tiny gnome druid came to dance with Bull.

“Ah, yes. It’s a good upgrade but I much prefer the look of my Betrayers set.”

Looking closer, Bull could see why. Where Dorian had been in a perfectly matched set of dramatic black robes with red and gold accents along his shoulders, gloves, and boots, he now wore a mix-match of two different sets. The newer pieces that had dropped from the latest raid were nice enough but a pale blue that looked horrible with the older pieces. It was surprising that Dorian hadn’t complained more about the awful look but perhaps the bonuses in the gear were enough that he hadn’t grumbled about it too much.

“Yeah, seems flashy enough to suit you.”

“Suits him in person too!” Felix interjected excitedly, jumping his character up and down on screen to emphasise his enthusiasm. “Just wait till you see our cosplay photos from Games Con! The Betrayer set looks amazing on Dorian!”

“You guys are coming to Games Con? We live in Skyhold so the whole gangs going. We should meet up!”

Krem’s character re-joined the group from whatever he was off doing in the city and joined Dorian in the /no emote, his characters expression looking even more judging than Dorian’s.

“Yes!” It honestly sounded like Felix was jumping up and down in his chair he was so excited. “Are you guys cosplaying too? I made my Spirit Walker set.”

“Yep! I had to get my axe custom made, I just couldn’t get it the right proportions without it collapsing. Dagna did a fucking amazing job though.”

“I hope it’s not a gnome sized set you’re wearing,” Dorian interjected archly. “It would be rather ridiculous on a qunari. Why on Thedas you play a gnome of all things is beyond me.”

“Say’s the ‘vint playing a qunari mage.”

“I enjoy the irony of playing a qunari mage in a game set during the dragon age. Gear also looks good on my character, which I can’t say the same for gnomes.”

“I look plenty good,” Felix protested then emphasised it by jumping a few more times. His character didn’t even reach Dorian’s shoulder.

“Hey, my armour looks badass,” Bull joined in before switching the conversation back to the previous topic. “How long are guys here for? We have room if you need somewhere to stay, save the hotel fee. They always put them up just for the event.”

“All three days of the con and one extra day,” Felix supplied. “We fly back on the fifth day; the tickets were cheaper and we figured we’d be so tired the day after that we’d just sleep anyway.”

“What time you fly in? I could pick you up and you could get ready at ours. We’ve already booked a van to take us all in and it would be awesome rocking up as a group all in costume!” Bull grinned at the thought, they’d make the most epic entrance ever! Though hopefully that didn’t mean they’d get held up for photos at the entrance too long like what happened last year.

“Six am—” Felix began but Dorian cut him off.

“Do you have wheelchair access? Because while your offer is very generous, Felix only has limited mobility at the best of times and with a full day out, he’ll be in his chair.”

“Six is early, but I can manage,” Bull replied, stalling for time while he mentally ran through the layout of the house. He’d forgotten Felix could only walk short distances unassisted and even then, from what he’d heard from Dorian scolding him, not without pain. The blight was curable nowadays but it still left horrible scars in its wake. “The front door is up one step but the kitchen, lounge, and one of the bathrooms are all downstairs along with mine and Krem’s rooms. I can couch it if you want my room. You don’t have to, especially if it’s too hard, but you should definitely come visit after the con! It’d be fun to hang out!”

“I’m happy to share my room too,” Krem spoke up, surprising Bull. That was unusual, Krem was generally a very private person and reluctant to share his space. But then, he got on very well with Felix and Bull knew that he’d been especially supportive of Krem once he’d found out about the circumstances around why he left Tevinter.

Dorian hummed while he thought about it, apparently the one with the final say. “I’ll send you a list of things we’ll need and we’ll work out if it’s viable. It would save us a lot of money, so if there is anything we need to buy to make it work, I’m happy to do that.”

The sound of another user entering the voice chat interrupted Bull’s response.

“So, what’s this about an achievement?” Varric sounded even more tired than usual, though he still had his customary good humour.

“Hey Varric!” Bull said, greeting the dwarf at the same time as everyone else. “You coming to Games Con?”

“Yeap,” he replied and a little notification indicated that Varric’s hunter had logged in. Within seconds he’d joined the party. “Going to be keeping a low profile though, don’t want any impromptu signings to take over my day off.”

“We’re coming too!” Felix was honestly the most excited little cinnamon bun. “We should all meet up!”

“We’ll see what we can work out kid but right now, I just want to smash buttons and drink some dubious liquor. I need it after my week.”

“I’ll drink to that!” Bull cried out, raising his own glass of beer in mock salute, even though no one could see him. “Now come on, let’s go get us a dragon!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: this is only going to be a short thing, 3 chapters, maybe 10-15k words  
> also me: well, shit.
> 
> For any non-australian/nzers a ute = a truck with a tray behind the passanger section. Also I usually type out numbers in their word form but typing six AM felt strange so I didn't.
> 
> Warnings for lack of editing, just cause I'm lazy tbh (I'm not sorry) :P

Arriving at Skyhold’s airport at 6am meant the usual bustle of people was missing and only a handful of people bustled about. Dorian and Felix had landed about fifteen minutes ago, their flight making good time and arriving early. Around Bull in the waiting area a few families waited along with a few individuals; an eclectic mix of human, dwarf, elf, and even a qunari woman. The feeling in the place was quiet and tired but Bull found he liked the lack of crowds and bustle. Usually he was all for lots of people and couldn’t care less but people visiting airports tended to be particularly pushy and impatient.

The sliding doors to the customs contained area for people entering the country opened and Bull peered through, wondering if it might be his two ‘vints yet. A young dwarven family strolled out with their bags loaded on a trolley and a young girl asleep in her mother’s arms, head resting on her shoulder. They were greeted ecstatically by an older dwarven couple and Bull smiled at the tearful family reunion. The doors sliding open again drew Bull’s attention and this time he couldn’t help but grin.

He’d never seen a picture of Dorian or Felix, they were both fairly private unlike Bull and his lot, but Felix had told him to look out for the moustache and the wheelchair. He had to admit, the description, while simple, was effective enough that he recognised them both immediately. Bull had initially joked that he would be waiting with a comically large sign but after Dorian’s very calm threat of shanking him in his sleep if he caused a scene at the airport Bull settled for the old enthusiastic wave when they looked his way. To be fair, his horns were as distinctive as their moustache/wheelchair combo so even the wave was probably unnecessary.

Looking over them both, the first thing that caught Bull’s attention was how _pretty_ Dorian was. A casual button up shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows highlighted his lean frame and tight jeans hugged his legs. Damn, Bull bet those jeans made his ass look amazing but sadly he couldn’t see from this angle. The curled moustache should look comical but, somehow, he pulled it off along with the undercut and tousled dark hair on top. He had that effortlessly casual look that could only be achieved by a great deal of effort and looked perfect even though they had left their house at around two that morning. Dorian pushed a large trolley loaded up with two huge suitcases, most likely full of their cosplay gear with only a little room for regular clothing, and a very long, very securely wrapped mixture of cardboard and bubble wrap that Bull knew to be their custom-made staves.

Wheeling himself next to Dorian was Felix. He waved excitedly back, a big grin lighting up his face and he looked every inch the bright ray of sunshine that Bull had come to know online. Compared to Dorian, Felix looked as rumpled as Bull felt in the morning, but it hardly seemed to matter with that big grin. He zipped forward in front of Dorian, fingerless gloves protecting his hands as he grasped the metal grip of the wheels to come to a stop in front of Bull.

“Felix!” Bull cried out in greeting, throwing his arms wide then leaning down for a hug.

Felix laughed and reached up to return the squeeze, his arms surprisingly strong for his slight frame. Though if he never used a powered wheelchair Bull supposed there had to be some benefits.

“Bull! It’s so good to meet you in person!” Felix pulled away did didn’t initially let go, instead keeping his hands on Bull’s shoulders while he inspected the qunari. He laughed as he let go, his grin still not diminished in the slightest. “You look exactly like the all those silly pictures, only so much bigger than I imagined!”

“Yeah, it’s hard to grasp our size without a reference. Dorian!” Bull exclaimed as he turned to the man pulling up with the unwieldly trolley.

Dorian squeaked when Bull wrapped him in a giant bear hug, the noise muffled by his broad chest. An awkward hand patted his side and Bull gave him one last squeeze before letting him go.

“Kaffas, there really is a lot of you, isn’t there?” Dorian commented as he looked Bull over, eyes sweeping up and down his entire form. On default Bull flexed, earning an immediately eyeroll.

“Dorian! Don’t be rude!” Felix admonished before turning an apologetic frown on Bull.

Bull just waved him off. “Don’t worry about it, it’s fine. He’s not wrong.” He flexed again, just for good measure, before pulling the trolley away from Dorian. “You gents had breakfast yet?”

Felix fell in-step—rather, in wheel?—with Bull as he lead them out of the terminal and towards the parking area, Dorian trailing behind looking as though he was having a hard time processing what was going on. For all that the ‘vint looked put together and awake, he acted like he was still half asleep.

“I had a biscuit on the plane but it wasn’t long enough of a flight for them to do a meal service,” Felix replied before casting a worried frown over his shoulder. “Dorian hasn’t had anything yet, he’s not much of a morning person.”

Well, that explains it then. He really was more asleep than awake. The usually loud ‘vint was conspicuously quiet but Felix made up for it with his bright chatter and general enthusiasm over the upcoming convention.

Bull led them to the base level of the parking lot after paying the parking fee and waving off Felix’s protests. His massive ute stood alone, pulled up into one of the oversized disability parking spaces. It was one of only three designed for qunari-sized vehicles but there was enough parking at this time of the morning that it hardly mattered.

“I wasn’t sure if I could park here without a permit but when called up the airport parking helpline they said it was fine. Reckon that’s got more to do with the time of the day though,” Bull said as he clicked the button on his keychain to automatically unlock the vehicle. Turning, he found both Dorian and Felix staring wide-eyed at the gigantic ute. “Guess you don’t get many qunari vehicles in Tevinter, huh?”

Blinking, Felix visibly gathered himself before replying. “No, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one. I suppose it takes more than a few years of a begrudgingly open immigration policy to actually become a multi-cultural society. Although we do have a few qunari students at my university.”

“Yeah, that kind of thing takes time. Now, how do you want to do this?”

When Bull had initially offered to organise a special wheelchair accessible taxi to bring them back, Felix had vehemently refused, stating that he could get himself in and out of a vehicle just fine. But Bull didn’t think he’d accounted for just how large his truck really was, even after he attempted to warn him. It was hard to visualise without having previous experience to compare to.

When Felix didn’t initially reply, Bull cast a look at Dorian. The man stood quietly looking between Felix and Bull with a worried expression. “It’s pretty high up, even Krem has trouble getting in. I can give you a lift if you like? I’m pretty strong, after all.”

Bull flexed again, purposefully trying to play it off as a casual offer. No need to start the day off on the wrong foot by setting off Felix’s stubbornly independent side. Felix wanting to do things on his own, including things that he probably shouldn’t, was understandable but was not always feasible. It was also the only thing Dorian and Felix argued about, from what he’d heard.

“A lift would be appreciated,” Felix finally said and Dorian’s relief was palpable.

It was easy enough for Bull to hoist the tiny ‘vint into his arms and deposit him in the front passenger seat. The human was actually light enough that Bull could balance him on his hands which made for easier transport, so to speak. Once Felix was placed roughly in the right place, he was able to shimmy himself properly into the seat while Bull turned his attention to lifting the luggage into the tray of the ute. Dorian hovered behind him anxiously while Bull carefully strapped the wheelchair securely to the vehicle’s utility tray.

“You can hop in, I got this covered,” Bull said mildly, glancing back at the dithering man.

Everything about Dorian’s posture and lack of conversation screamed that he was out of his element, an unusual state from what Bull knew of the man. Still, the ridiculously early start, worry over the trip, and the oddity of meeting a stranger-not-stranger from over the internet probably had a lot to do with it.

It took Bull taking the now empty trolley from Dorian and gently slapping him on the back in the direction of the truck to get the ‘vint moving. Or, at least, Bull tried for a gentle back slap, the fact that Dorian still lurched forward and let out a small squeak suggested he didn’t quite hit the mark on that one. Soon enough the trolley was returned, the luggage was triple checked to ensure it was secure, and then they were peeling out of the airport carpark.

Beside him, Felix kept up a running conversation about the differences he could see from the truck window between Ferelden and Tevinter. Neither of the ‘vints had ever come so far south before, mostly sticking to their homeland or the warmer countries nearby, and the differences were small but many. Skyhold in particular was rather novel to the two big city dwellers. While Skyhold was a big city in its own right, it was surrounded by farmland and most of its wealth came from agriculture. You travel thirty minutes by vehicle from the center of the city and you hit rolling fields that had you questioning whether you’d imagined the city or not.

The sleepy small-town atmosphere that Skyhold was known for was a far cry from the bustling metropolis that was their Minrathous home.

“Alright, here we are,” Bull announced as he pulled into the driveway of their large shared house.

It was a fairly new building, built by himself, Grim, and Rocky for the most part. They had brought the land cheap after the original house had been condemned to be demolished. A bit of lucky timing, a bit of effort, and a lot of construction connections had landed them with a beautiful large home fit for all their gang. On paper it was co-owned by Krem and Bull but really all the gang owned a piece of the house.

Grim’s head poked out the door as Bull shut off the ute before disappearing back inside, probably to inform anyone who was awake that they’d arrived. He came back out again a moment later to pull up their wooden ramp attachment for the front step, a solid piece of carpentry that Grim was quite proud of. And if it could hold Bull’s weight, which it did even when he jumped on it though he thought Grim might just faint when he did it, then it would be fine for Felix.

Jumping out of the vehicle, Bull was just in time to catch Dorian as he slid out of the truck and stumbled. It was quite the step down to the ground even for Bull and he’d had more than one human, or shorter, passenger literally fall when trying to step out. Stepping up to catch, then support, Dorian as he settled back on his feet put them standing in each other’s space. Dorian’s hands shot out to steady himself and landed firmly on Bull’s chest, the warmth of them seeping through the thin fabric of Bull’s shirt. The heat was startling, as was their sudden closeness when Dorian glanced up, eyes wide.

Hazel eyes, Bull though idly. Murky green and brown with flecks of brilliant gold. It was a testament as to how close they were that he could make out the colour. _Shit,_ he was just so damn _pretty._

“Gotta watch your step with this one,” Bull said as he stepped back once Dorian seemed stable. He gave the man a cheerful pat on the back, and oops, Dorian lurched at the force again, gotta watch that enthusiasm, before heading around to unload the wheelchair.

Grim helped Dorian with the suitcases after the briefest, and very typical, nod hello. Stitches also appeared to introduce himself cheerily, the morning person that he is, before grabbing the carefully packaged staves. As Dorian followed Grim into the house, Bull finally got a look at Dorian’s behind and it was all he could do to not drool at the sight of those tight jeans clinging to the perfectly rounded shape. _Daaaaaaamn._

Shaking himself, Bull turned to help Felix from the truck and saw him settled back in his chair before locked up the truck. It was with no small amount of pride that Bull watched Felix easily wheel himself up the ramp and smoothly through the front door, Grim was damn good at what he did.

Following behind, Bull paused in the entryway and looked about. No one was around but voices could be heard towards the lounge and bathroom area. “Looks like they’re taking Dorian on a tour, did you want to join them while I whip us all up some breakfast?”

“Somehow I doubt it’s just a tour,” Felix replied drily, turning his head to glance at Bull before rolling his eyes dramatically. “Honestly, the photos you sent of the rails were perfect, he doesn’t need to fuss so.”

Chuckling, Bull led the way to the large open plan kitchen that bordered the huge downstairs lounge. It had been surprisingly easy to make their house accessible for Felix as everything was open plan to accommodate the varying sizes in residence. Grim was able to get railings at a discount through his contacts and between him and Bull, they were easy enough to install where necessary. There was plenty of space by the toilet for the hand rail and their shower was already in an open ‘wet room’ style meaning that there was no enclosure of the shower, other than a single panel of glass. It was mostly for Bull’s size, although the cleaning was also easier, but all in all, it meant that the entire downstairs was big enough for a wheelchair to access everywhere.

“He’s just looking out for you,” Bull said over his shoulder as he began to pull pots and pans from the cupboards along with trays of eggs, bacon, and bread. “You allergic to anything? Or anything you don’t like?”

“No allergies and I’ll eat pretty much anything. Don’t ask Dorian, he’s fussy. He’s not allergic to anything either though so he can suck it up.” There was the sound of shuffling and a grunt of pain. Concerned, Bull paused to look behind him and found Felix settling on the tall barstool at the long island counter. Felix raised a challenging eyebrow but Bull didn’t comment, instead turning back to his task. “Thanks for this, by the way. It saved us a huge amount and I think it’ll be more fun to go as a group too.”

Both Felix and Dorian had already said their thanks repeatedly, well Dorian only after seeing photos of the work they’d done to the house, and Bull waved him off. There were only a few disability accessible hotels in Skyhold which meant that their choice was limited and with the busy time of year, the fees had been crazy.

“Don’t worry about it and hey, this way you can come by and visit us whenever you want.”

Glancing back Bull caught sight of the beaming grin Felix was sporting at his words. Honestly, he was just a big ball of sunshine. A figure appeared in the lounge and a very tired looking Krem approached in his pyjamas. Bull waited while he officially introduced himself to Felix before stepping into the kitchen proper to fix himself a coffee.

“Krem puff!” Bull boomed in greeting, earning a wince from the man in question at the noise. This was almost a morning ritual for them by now. “Hey Krem.” Krem paused to give Bull a suspicious look after he stage whispered to him. “Krem, he’s hot.”

Krem groaned and slammed his mug down onto the bench. “NO.”

“What?” Bull replied mock-innocently.

“No,” he repeated poking a finger menacingly into Bull’s chest to no effect. “No fucking the guests.”

Behind them Felix burst out into laughter and at their dual looks, put his hands up defensively. “Hey, he’s not talking about me so I don’t think ‘guests’ is quite right.”

Bull swept his gaze critically over Felix, noting most of what he had before; bright smile, handsome face, fashionably casual, if rumpled, clothing and hair. “You’re attractive,” Bull stated earning a stunned look and rising blush from Felix. “But you’re more bubbles where Dorian is more fire. I like fire, it’s like dragons. Although I haven’t seen any of that fire today.”

“So, you’re basically saying I’m cute but he’s hot?” Bull shrugged, it was close but there was more to it than that, it was hard to explain with words. “We get that a lot, actually. Though not usually quite so bluntly. Anyways, like I said earlier, Dorian isn’t actually awake yet. He looks awake, but he can put on his face and do his hair in his sleep, literally. He’ll perk up after food and some caffeine.”

After a moment’s consideration Krem got out a second mug then a third which he offered towards Felix in the most welcoming gesture Bull had ever seen from the pre-coffee Krem. Seemed like Krem and Dorian had their distaste for mornings in common. While Krem fixed two coffees and a tea for Felix, Bull set about scrambling eggs, crisping bacon, and starting up a rotation of toast on their two toasters.

The noise preceded the rest of the household as Dorian returned looking pleased and marginally more awake with Grim, Stiches, and now Dalish in tow. The smell of bacon permeated the room and Bull started a search for extras to add to breakfast; avocadoes, tomatoes, jams, spreads. It was an epic breakfast and just perfect to keep them going on a long day out. Krem pushed the extra coffee in front of Dorian when he took a bar stool beside Felix.

“You,” Dorian said as he wrapped his hands reverently around the still steaming mug. “You are my favourite.”

Krem smirked while Bull aimed a sad mock-pout at Dorian. “Hey, who picked you up at 6am?”

“Coffee,” was all the response he got much to the amusement of everyone else.

The smell of food was enough to summon the rest of the household and breakfast was just as loud and hectic as it usually was when everyone was up at the same time. Clean up was easy with many helping hands and soon enough it was time to get ready.

“All right, everyone should start getting ready, just yell if you need a hand. Felix, I think Krem’s got your suitcase,” he waited while Krem nodded and Felix, now back in his chair, followed after him at his gesture. “Dorian, you can use my room to get changed, if you like, or the bathroom. I just need to change my pants, everything else I need a hand with anyway so I’ll get ready out here.”

Dorian followed Bull to his bedroom at the rear of the ground floor, pausing incredulously in the doorway.

“I don’t know what I expected,” Dorian remarked drily as he glanced at the multitude of surfaces covered in pictures of dragons.

A huge, magnificently depicted dragon roared out from the artwork talking up a large portion of the wall by bis bed, the bedspread itself was an elegant red and black pattern with golden serpentine dragons, his computer wallpaper was yet more dragon artwork, as was his mouse pad. Multiple statues of various species of dragons were artfully placed in his book shelf along with more framed pictures, some dragons, some actual photos, while the few books seemed more like an afterthought.

“Hey, dragons are the best.”

Dorian eyed Bull as he entered dubiously, still glancing around occasionally as though he was having trouble taking it all in. Bull grinned and gestured to the suitcase placed neatly by the door in case Dorian had missed it, too preoccupied by the majesty of the dragon furnishings.

“Okay, lemme change these pants then the rooms all yours.”

Without presumable Bull shucked off his wide necked t-shirt, depositing on his dresser before doing the same with his pants. A strangle noised sounded out from behind him and he turned as he finished stepping into the tight black pants that go under his handcrafted cosplay armour. Dorian was standing in the middle of the room, back to him what looked like his hands pressed to his face.

“Vishante kaffas, what kind of barbarian doesn’t wear underwear and proceeds to strip in front of their guest without warning?”

Adjusting his pants, Bull stepped around Dorian and grinned when he saw the faintest hint of a blush on his dark skin. “Hey, I warned you I was going to change my pants, not my fault you were looking.” Dorian made another strangled sound and Bull laughed as the hands fell away to reveal a rather flustered glare. “As good as that eleven outta ten you were moaning about a few weeks back?”

“Hardly,” Dorian said archly, not missing a beat. “I’d give you a generous seven, at most.”

“Damn, gotta work on those squats, huh?”

They maintained eye contact for a moment before they both burst into laughter. The absurdity of the conversation relaxed the atmosphere and Bull found the air between them warming to something like what they usually had when they conversed. Still, there was an undercurrent of something else now, highlighted by the way Dorian’s eyes swept over his shirtless chest, lingering for a moment before he turned to fetch his suitcase.

“All right you beast, some of us prefer not to have an audience while we change.”

“Aw, damn. Well, if you change your mind, let me know!” Bull gave Dorian an exaggerated blink, a one-eyed wink, before heading back to the lounge to wrangle his armour on.

Stitches appeared to help, his own healer robes beautifully intricate in design but mercifully easy to slip on, and together they managed to strap each piece securely into place. When Krem appeared, freshly showered and dressed in a tight black jump suit, they both turned to helping him slip into his plate armour.

One by one, different people appeared in various states of dress, the downstairs lounge crowded with people either dressed or helping others with final touches. When Dorian strode into the room Bull couldn’t help but letting out a low whistle of appreciation. The man looked far better than even his character in game; the red and black robes covered in stunning golden scrollwork and the fabric billowed out around his feet as he walked. The earlier light makeup had been altered into a dramatic look with dark, smoky eyes and highlighted cheek bones. Combined with the shining golden circlet resting perfectly in his dark hair, he looked like he’d stepped right out of the game or perhaps a historical movie. He could have put any dragon age era magister to shame.

“ _Damn_ , Dorian.”

Sauntering into the room like it was a castle he owned, Dorian smirked. Krem elbowed Bull but he couldn’t help continuing to stare appreciatively as Dorian walked over to where Skinner was swearing into the mirror while trying to do her own make up. After staring at the ‘vint suspiciously, Skinner handed over her products and Dorian took over. Felix joined them a moment later dressed in a variation of the tribal-esq Spirit Walker suit his character had worn for healing their way through the last big raid before the current one was released. The outfit had been altered so he could sit more comfortably, the bulky knotted string belt ending half way so it didn’t dig into his back, for example, but he looked amazing too.

“Looking good Felix!” Bull called enthusiastically, earning a pleased smile from both of their visitors.

Dorian was roped into making up Felix and Dalish as well, and then carefully applying the paint along Grim’s stencil for his characters tattoos. It was nice to see how easily he fell into place in the group in person, much like how they all worked together so well in game. It was quickly apparent that once everyone adjusted to seeing each other in person rather than via only voice all nerves vanished and it was like seeing old friends.

The blaring of a horn outside had them all scrambling for their things. They had four large bags between the nine of them all full of wallets, phones, water bottles, extra cosplay paraphernalia, and a packed lunch. As much as carrying a bag around a con while in cosplay could be annoying, it saved then from bringing a bag each and the pre-packed food meant they didn’t have to worry about lines or paying a lot for shitty food. Bull and Krem had spent the day before prepping all manner of sandwiches, snacks, fruit, savouries, and sweets. They had covered every base for food allergies and preferences they could think of.

“That’ll be Veth,” Bull explained to their guests. “She runs the best local foreign food takeaway and is the only one in Skyhold with a qunari sized van so we hired her to run us there and back each day.”

“Kaffas,” Dorian muttered as he stepped outside and pulled up short, eyeing the massive vehicle pulled up behind Bull’s truck.

Amused, Bull wondered if the swear was aimed at the van or the massive vashoth woman greeting everyone. Veth was scant millimetres shorter than Bull and her vibrant presence made her seem larger than life. She was a pillar of the expat community in Skyhold with two of her own kids, six adopted kids of varying ages and races, and pretty much having adopted most of Skyhold as extended family. In his head, Bull considered her equal to a tamassran, though he wasn’t sure what the second generation vashoth would think of that.

“This is Veth,” Bull said politely as they approached the van. “As I said earlier, she runs the local takeout place specialising in anything not Ferelden. Best food around as you’ll find out tonight when we grab dinner from there on the way home. Veth, this is Dorian and Felix.”

She glanced them over then looked hard at Bull. “So, these are your other ‘vint friends? You have to watch out for the pretty ones, they’re trouble.”

“Oh, I’ll be watching all right,” Bull replied, his voice taking on more of a rumble than he intended as he thought about how wonderfully Dorian had filled out his jeans earlier.

Dorian snorted then swept an elaborate bow that had Veth raising her brows. “A pleasure to meet you though I must assure you, we’re only trouble in all the best ways.”

With that he stepped around to board the van without looking back while Felix rolled his eyes at the dramatic display. “Forgive him, he’s always like that but it’s very nice to meet you, Veth.”

“I like them,” was all Veth said before she was wheeling Felix round to the passenger seat.

Felix squawked as Veth picked him up without presumable and placed him into the front seat. Bull probably should have warned Felix that she would probably fuss enough to put Dorian to shame, but she did it in such a motherly, no-nonsense way that you couldn’t argue. It wasn’t like Felix would be getting the extra attention for his disability, either, she was like that with anyone she considered part of her family. Which was almost everyone, you really had to be a dick to get on the wrong side of Veth.

Bull locked up the house and climbed into the van last after checking to make sure all their extra gear was stowed in the back. It was nice to be able to travel together and not have to worry about space or parking. At the front, Bull could hear Veth happily explaining to Felix that she’d got in a whole pig yesterday and had the pork belly slow roasting in ‘vint spices knowing that they were getting more ‘vint visitors today. Krem looked like he was about to cry in happiness at the prospect of dinner and Felix’s delighted replies were clearly charming Veth.

The ride was a mixed feeling of excitement, discomfort with the costumes, and easy friendship. It was relaxed in a way that Bull hadn’t expected but was pleased about. Glancing back, he spotted Dorian settled comfortably between Grim and Krem, chatting away as though they hadn’t just met in person scant hours ago.

Pulling up at the front of Skyhold’s convention center, they could see the line was already huge. They were only arriving an hour before opening time but no one really wanted to stand around for any longer than that. An hour was plenty of time to get a few group shots in before the doors opened, as well. If they were lucky Varric would spot them and they could get a few photos with him as well.

“All right everyone, lets go have fun! Horns up!”

A series of cheers greeted Bull’s words as they piled out, their costumes quickly drawing attention. A few cameras were already pointed their way and Bull just knew this was going to be a great day.


End file.
